All The Same At Heart
by MaybeSage
Summary: Miles/Grace. She always disobeys him, he angers her. They hate each other...until Quaritch gets his own Avatar and things change between the two. Describable tension surround the two as hostility burns between Na'Vi and Humans, what can these two possibly do to ease the societies' they love? Can they bring themselves to care for each other for the sake of everyone on Pandora?
1. Chapter 1

**So, let me explain. As I was following the production and follow-ups while Avatar was being made, I had pictured Grace to be another actress that the casters were considering, and that is how I imagine her looking in this fic :) I won't tell you who the actress is because I want you to picture the characters as you see fit – hey, after all, this IS fanfiction! We can do whatever the hell we want! :P**

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_Chapter One._

Sure footed and heavy footsteps could be heard throughout the echoing hallways of the compound. Distinct in their very nature and confident in their stride, anyone who wasn't deaf, dumb or blind knew who they belonged to. And every single time she heard them, her blood boiled a few temperatures higher than usual.

Grace Augustine scowled slightly at the sight at the other end of the hall. People moved to the sides of the hall, some ducked their heads and all knew not to get in his path. An imposing man of impressive height, weight and build took no notice of his subordinates as he strode down the hall like he owned the damn place.

Grace's scowl turned to bored indifference as they made eye contact for the briefest of seconds as he passed her, the same expression on his face as well. Her and Colonel Quaritch didn't like each other. Not one bit. To her, he was nothing but a glorified bodyguard for that spoiled brat sitting in a leather chair in his high office, Parker Selfridge. To him, she was probably just some nerd who studied plants all day. She didn't care though. He and his opinion didn't matter to her in the least so she didn't keep herself up at night wondering why he didn't like her. She knew that answer too for the most part. She got in his way. And he got in her way. A tale of wind and sea, complete opposites.

She rounded the corner at the end of the hall and picked up her pace when she remembered the amount of cataloguing work she had to attend to. Her own leather boots making silent _thuds _against the linoleum floor. Her hair was down today, as it usually was in the mornings up until she got sick of it in her face and around her neck sometime in the afternoon, depending on the humidity. It's dark brown colour complimented her sun-kissed eyes, she thought, with their light and dark differences. She chose her usual khakis and tank top covered by a longer sleeved one today as almost every other day. She enjoyed the simplicity of it, it reminded her that although she might be a complete wreck sometimes, stressing over everything and sometimes regretting even coming to Pandora, that there still were simple things in life. Even if in her anger she burned most of them.

"Morning, Norm." She greeted. The tall and lanky boy immediately jumped to his feet, mumbled incoherently and almost dropped the flask he was holding at her greeting. His antics made her smile often and seeing him so uncomfortable at her merely saying his name brought a wicked sense of pleasure to her that she would never understand. But it sure was funny.

"Good morning, Dr. Augustine!" He replied a little too loudly and a little too out of breath.

She decided to put the poor boy out of his misery and simply continued her way to her desk. Unlike almost everyone else in the lab, her desk was full of papers, proposals and plexipads whose importance was declared minimal in place of other matters. She switched on her personal computer that sat at her desk waiting patiently each morning for her to push frustratedly too hard on its keys and yell obscenities at its screen. God, she loved this thing. Always there to take her crap when one of her drones wasn't always around to cop it.

Its screen immediately emitted a blue light as it came to life. The first thing she noticed was the 48 unread emails awaiting her reply.

_'Only 48?' _She thought, _'Today is going to be a good day...' _She mused and smiled to herself.

She decided since she was already in a good mood, she would answer just a few. She double tapped the screen with her finger over the icon and the new window popped up.

Her smile immediately dropped from her face as she read the sender of the first email on the list. _Parker Selfridge_, it read. A name that would instantly put anyone in the science department in a bad mood if it were mentioned, and Grace was no exception.

"Look out everyone, I've got an email from Selfridge here." She spoke an octave louder than usual so everyone on the surrounding desks would hear her. The resounding groans coming from her colleagues seemed to give her their united courage and she grinned in amusement as she tapped his name with her finger.

_Grace. _It started, and already it felt like a demand.

_General updating meeting at 1100 today at the conference room. This would be the time to present any proposals to the table for consideration._

_Parker._

She scoffed at his use of first names. He always did that, because he knew he could. He was the man running the show here and if he wanted you to be on a first name basis with him, you were sure as hell going to be. With one exception, the Colonel. He only referred to his squire as _Colonel _or _Quaritch_, or both. Heck, she didn't even _know _whathis first name was! Only that it started with an _M_, as his arrogantly placed name plaque on his office door informed anyone that walked past who happened to glance at it read _Col. M. Quaritch_.

"General meeting." She said to the silent room, sighs came from all around as she did. She sat back and looked at her scientists, "If anyone has any proposals that would like to be presented to the farmer and his dogs, bring them here." She said. Giggles were heard through the room. She liked making jokes at other's expense. Not at the expense of people she cared for, but of the annoyances of the world. Two of which that currently stood in a large room conspiring against a peaceful planet. Yes, those people are the ones that deserved her relentless humour.

"Dr. Augustine." She heard her name and looked up into the sheepish expression of her fastly-becoming favourite scientist, Norm.

She smiled reassuringly at him, "Got a proposal for me, Norm?"

"Well... not written down or anything. I just thought, maybe, you could perhaps present an idea to the board for me...?" He asked, unsure.

"Depends what it is." She said and watched him as he bustled about grabbing papers, and plexies from various desks that didn't belong to him with a quick _"Right!"_

He unceremoniously dumped, no, dropped the objects in his arms onto her desk. But instead of being angry, she silently told herself to clean her damn desk after his scrunched papers and disorganisation looked right at home on the surface. She raised her brows a touch and curled her lips in, moving ever so slightly back from her desk to allow him room.

"Sorry!" He said, again a little too loudly, and fiddled with a few of the papers, attempting to make them look more tame.

"Get on with it, Norm." She said and rubbed her temple slightly. It wasn't a frustrated gesture towards Norm himself, but at the stupid meeting she was being summoned to go to. Most of the time at the conference room was spent arguing with jarhead loons about topics beyond their comprehension. And she was certain this time wasn't going to be any different.

"Well I was hoping a presentation could be made regarding our research on the energy surrounding the bioluminescent leaves of plant specimens 108 and 109 for the hopes of a renewable and everlasting energy source to help reduce the energy consumption of the compound." He said in one big breath, shuffling through his papers, never quite finding the right one in time before his next word.

Grace Augustine rolled her eyes and felt a sigh escape at the mere suggestion that she bring up going outside the gates to Parker and Quaritch. The two were still a little on edge about the whole Thanator attacking during the day now thing. Even as she explained to the two that _they _were the ones disturbing the Thanator's natural behaviour with their big fancy weaponry and loud bangs, she still highly doubts they'll hear more than two words about it.

Norm's face fell at the Doctor's expression. She noticed this and explained, "It's not at you, Norm. I'd love to continue that research, but do you really think the military will be on our side after the Thanator attack last week on a soldier?" She asked him.

He bowed his head even lower, "No, I don't think so." He answered truthfully.

"Sorry, Norm." Grace said to him genuinely. His ideas were often smart and very valid, but unfortunately they also required a lot of time and energy. Things in which, to Parker, were their own currency. And God knows he loves his currency.

"That's okay, Doctor. I'll just continue with it's theory studies." He smiled sadly and with disappointment.

He left her to her work after gathering all of his papers and things in one giant swoop of his long arms.

Although her experiments screamed at her for attention, she couldn't keep concentrated enough to make any real progress. A coffee is in order, she thought. With a huff and a sigh she pushed herself out of her chair and made her way to the lone coffee machine that sat on one of the benches of the lab, the scientists obviously not deserving a proper kitchenette. _Bullshit, _she thought. She and her team worked harder than any of those mindless _boys _and their guns.

It really was an insult to her and her division. She let it slide because of her lack of genuine caring and was pleased to see the coffee in the machine made and ready to be consumed. She grabbed her red mug that everyone knew not to use because it was hers from the tower of mugs kept to the left of the machine.

She leaned her hip against the bench as she sipped her coffee with her eyes closed, revelling in its taste.

She took the time to glance at her watch and pulled a face as she realised it was nearing 10:30. At this point she didn't even want to wait, she just wanted to get it over and done with. But she knew showing up over half an hour early meant the more chance she would run into her least favourite people on two planets. And she certainly didn't want that. So she just leaned against the workbench until her hip starting hurting and she finished her coffee. The sink was close enough to the coffee machine that all she had to do was reach over and place her red mug in the sink, ready for someone else to wash and worry about, knowing it would be fresh, clean and the top of the mug pyramid the next morning.

Grace took her time walked back over to her desk, her mind never leaving Norm's disappointed face for long. He was much too shy and (although it hurt her a little to admit it) pathetic to actually stand up for himself, even when his research was at risk. As she flopped into her chair, she couldn't bring herself to look at the horrid email anymore, so she promptly pressed the trash can icon and sent it to where it belongs.

"Norm," She started. His wide and inquiring eyes immediately found hers over the top of his computer, "I changed my mind about presenting your idea." She said while folding her hands in her lap.

Norm's eyes brightened, "Thank you Dr. Augustine! I'll come along and be the secondary-"

Her palm directed towards him stopped him, "Not necessary, Norm. I can handle it." She smiled. Damn right she could handle it.

He sank a little further into his seat at this, but smiled nonetheless, "Thank you again." He said, turning back to his work.

She almost didn't want to look, but very hesitantly she looked at the clock on the far wall. _10:50_.

_'Damn. Now I'm going to be late.' _She thought bitterly to herself.

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**R&R pleaseeeee! :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Here we go for Chapter 2! :) Seriously, there's not enough Miles/Grace out there... :/**

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"Sorry I'm late." She said, not genuine at all in her apology to the people sitting comfortably around the too-large-for-the-room table. She didn't bother to look up from the plexi she held in her hands as she made her way to her usual seat around the oval.

"Wouldn't recognise you if you weren't." She heard a deep voice say to her left and another voice snicker to her right.

She turned her head and glared at the man sitting to her left as she lowered herself into her seat, hoping her stare would somehow inspire him to shut his mouth. To her disdain, all she was returned with was an innocent expression from Quaritch. An expression that really did make him look entirely too innocent for her liking. His big too-blue eyes, the corners of his mouth turned upward slightly and his eyebrows portraying no harsh expression that she was used to (and actually would've preferred at the moment). Instead of admitting defeat, she swung her right arm to lightly slap the snickering man to her right, Jim Ryann, Head of Engineering.

Jim's goofy smile and hands raised in surrender made a smile form on her face despite herself. She had known the man for years, even arriving on Pandora within the same shipment. Although they hardly had a history that was the typical 'tell your friends over a beer' type, camaraderie existed between them. Probably out of everyone sitting at this obnoxious meeting, he was the most tolerable.

"Hey!" He laughed, "He started it!" He pointed a finger at the Colonel, who laughed heartedly at the accusation, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms with a hearty smile.

It was always a strange thing, hearing Quaritch laugh. She had heard it many times before, him being the obvious idiot he was (in her opinion) it wasn't uncommon to hear the Colonel laughing at someone's expense or becoming 'all too giddy' at receiving brand new weaponry from Earth. But, mainly because it didn't sound menacing or maniacal in any way, but...enjoyable to say the least. Something she didn't feel comfortable with. It also had the effect of making her scowl dissipate into a smile.

"I _know _he started it," She gave a pointed look to Quaritch, "But I'm finishing it." She leaned back in her chair and smiled at Jim.

"If you're finishing it, then why don't you slap the instigator?" His smile never wavered. She couldn't blame him though, suggesting that someone slap Quaritch would've brought a smile to her face too.

She faced Quaritch. He wore a smug expression on his face and waited, as if he knew she wasn't going to touch him.

Unfortunately, he was right, "I can't," She said, her smile and eyes never leaving the Colonel, "I have a feeling I'm going to need his signature today."

Both Jim and Quaritch chuckled as Grace turned back to her plex. She was seriously considering presenting Norm's data now that she concluded the Colonel was in a good mood. Now all she had to do was wait for Parker to get there. The chattering around the room slowed then eventually ceased as the occupants of the table saw Selfridge stalking toward the room through the glass walls of the conference room. Grace audibly sighed, just wanting this to be over already.

"Good morning, people." Parker yelled with a smile when he came in, his short legs finding their way to the head of the table.

Grumbles were heard around the room as well as a few greetings. Being used to this reaction, Parker simply continued, "Okay, let's not take too long today," He looked at Augustine and Quaritch particularly, "I'm a busy man."

_'Self-righteous bastard.' _Grace thought.

Parker huffed as he sat in his chair, pawing at a few loose folders that were about in front of him, no doubt proposals from the other departments.

"I'd like to start, if I may." Came Jim's voice. Everyone's head turned to the man as he stood.

Parker held out his hand, "Of course." He said and linked his fingers under his chin listening intently.

Jim cleared his throat, "As you all know, the Aerospatiale SA-2 Samson model is undergoing upgrades, so I propose we postpone all air and foot missions till the upgrades are completed to avoid mishaps and accidents."

_'So much for keeping the scissor sisters in a good mood, thanks Jim.' _She rolled her eyes and thought.

Both Parker and Quaritch scoffed at the idea, "What reasoning do you have to support your request?" The Colonel asked, almost condescendingly. He leaned back in his chair and looked at Jim, one elbow resting on the arm of the chair and his hand coming up to scratch the stubble on his chin. Grace just rolled her eyes.

Jim's fists went to his hips and looked down at the Colonel, "Samsons are our general transport, emergency evac and rescue choppers," He furrowed his brows at the pair, "If an emergency were to arise while you were outside the gates and in need of emergency assistance, absolutely _none _would be available to you and a rescue team wouldn't be able to get to you."

"Obvious precautionary measures would be taken, for example – only low risk sections of the perimeter will be occupied, all men will be armed and ATV's will be at the ready in case of an emergency," Quaritch leaned forward, one elbow now resting on the table top, his hand making gestures as he spoke, "There's no reason for _all _missions to be called off." He finished and turned to Parker.

"How long will the upgrades take, Ryann?" Parker asked.

"No longer than seven days, sir."

Quaritch's eyes nearly popped out of his skull, "You can't be serious!" He sat spinning his chair to look from Parker to Ryann and back again, "Are you aware of the implications such a delay will cause?" He said seriously and looked at Parker.

Grace always enjoyed these moments. Narcissistic of her, maybe. But it was nice to know that other departments other than the science one could squirm. Plus it was always a pleasure to see Quaritch squirm in his seat. With a smile on her face, she just sat back to enjoy the show these men never failed to put on for her.

"Tess, calculate the loss in revenue we would experience if all work halted for seven days, please." He spoke softly to his assistant sitting attentively to his left. She immediately began scrawling numbers and typing into her plex after a quick "Yes, sir!"

"For God's sake." Quaritch mumbled and sat heavily in his chair, a hand running down his face.

Grace allowed herself a breathy laugh and turned her head to the Colonel, "Doesn't feel good when it's you, does it?" She whispered to him with a sarcastic smile.

He in turn glared at her and crossed his arms over his chest, not saying anything to her.

Grace felt oddly satisfied when he didn't reply. Like she had won some microscopic battle with the Colonel. It gave her confidence to know that Quaritch didn't win every war.

The silence that filled the room made the situation more awkward than it had to be. Some men in the room would clear their throats momentarily, others would tap their fingers against the tabletop, and others (like Quaritch) would bounce their knee up and down in a jerky and agitated way.

Parker's assistant was busily calculating losses and swapping numbers around, all too aware of the tension in the room. Grace saw the girl was nervous, evident by her shy eyes occasionally leaving her plex screen to glance at her boss who only returned it with a nod of his head in the direction of her keyboard.

"While we're all waiting," Grace started, "I have a proposal."

Quaritch bounced his arms into the air, "Well, that's my day ruined." He said.

The scientist only graced him with a swift glare before turning to the people in front of her. Not only was she itching to have some form of conversation in the room, but she felt bad for the girl tapping furiously at her keyboard in an attempt to do an hour's work in mere minutes. She knew how hard the finance side of the RDA was. She spent most of her time battling it after all.

"One of my scientists, Norm Spellman," There were a few nods around the room at the familiar name, "Has some interesting research ideas regarding reusable energy for the compound." This is usually all she needed to say before one person or another would fire questions at her.

"Augustine, I know this may come as a surprise to you, but there are more pressing matters at hand." Lyson, Head of Geology, commented rather disrespectfully. His dark brows furrowed at her and waited for her response. Luckily for him, she wasn't one to keep someone waiting.

She stood slowly and leaned heavily on the table, her plex in between her hands, "Like what, Andy? Sourcing what dried up Thanator crap you can inspect under a microscope next?"

That started it. Andy was a man known for his temper and his protectiveness for his field. The stout man stood so fast his chair was knocked from beneath him and many occupants in the room gasped from being startled by the bang. Not Grace however, she was used to a fight.

"I'll have you know, _Grace_," He pointed a finger in her direction, "That those samples of _phosphorus minerals _are the reason you're on this planet in the first place!"

"And it's because of _me _that _you _even have a department to work in! I fight for the science department every single day against Jarheads," She briefly waved a hand in the Colonel's direction, "And Lawyers," A hand waved at the RDA's resident 'Advisor' (so they called him), and she finally settled a finger pointed toward Lyson, "And assholes like you who are trying to jeopardise their own department by exploiting the funding for bullshit projects and depriving others of valuable resources!" She finished, and the angered look on Andy's face told Grace she had made her point.

"You and your team are nothing more than alien _gardeners _to this planet! My team harvests its resources to pay for your ridiculous endeavours to grow space beans!"

Grace's eyebrows rose along with her anger, "You and your team are the reason for countless deaths among the natives of Pandora and you don't even have the decency to admit it!"

"Yeah? Well you're a bitch!" He yelled, rather immaturely.

"_And you're a murderer!_" Grace yelled at the top of her lungs.

"_Enough!_" A voice boomed to her left.

The two scientists looked toward the voice's owner and eyed Colonel Quaritch. At the present moment, he was standing next to Grace with his arms spread in the directions of the two occupants creating the hassle in the room.

His face held a hint of anger within his furrowed brows and disappoint gaze, "Sit down!" He yelled at the two.

Grace forced her legs to buckle underneath her and she swiftly sat back in her chair. The only reason she stopped yelling at the short and idiotic waste-of-air was because she was surprised the Colonel could even shout that loud.

Andy continued to stand and his face grew even more red than before, "She started it!"

Quaritch turned his figure toward Andy intimidatingly, pointing a finger with a bent elbow at the offensive man in the room, "I said _SIT. DOWN!_" He yelled.

For a brief second, Grace felt gratitude toward the man. It almost appeared that he was on her side. Even if that wasn't the case, she was still in a better position than Lyson. If there's anything she knew about the Colonel, it was that he didn't like it when people didn't follow his orders. Perhaps that was why her subconscious warned her of the upcoming doom that would've awaited her had she hesitated a moment longer to plant herself in her chair. The upcoming doom that was now nipping at the heels of the Geologist across from her. She wanted to snicker at him, but held it in for fear of the tables being turned on her.

Andy's mouth immediately shut and his butt hit the soft leather of his chair not a second later. Now glaring at not only Grace, but Quaritch too.

Quaritch had to visibly calm himself down to refrain from beating the wimp to a pulp. He was top-dog around here and everyone knew it. He took a deep breath, "If you two are finished, perhaps we could settle this like the civil people we are and come to a conclusion that best suits all of us." He spoke reasonably.

Nothing was said for a moment. Only the harsh words that were being communicated through glares.

"It would be a benefit to the entire compound for my research into this energy source to be further looked into." Grace responded in a calm voice although her eyes portrayed her true feelings toward the situation.

"I think we need to stop and take a breather, people." Parker chose this time to intercede, before he had to ask his Head of Military to forcibly remove a select number of occupants in the room.

"Agreed." Jim said, having sunk into his chair during the shouting match.

Andy was just about to open his mouth when the woman next to Parker cleared her throat. All eyes were on her in an instant.

"Based on the RDA's weekly resource management catalog corresponding with revenue acquired within a seven day basis interceding with-"

"Ya ya ya, get on with it." Parker interrupted her with a few rolls of his wrist.

"Total loss would equate to approximately 7.3 million US dollars."

A few whistles and gasps were heard around the room, and one triumphant smile forming on Quaritch's face. He knew that many dollar bills wouldn't be ignored by Selfridge, and through that, he knew he had won.

His smug face turned toward Jim, "Sorry, Jim." He smiled.

Jim rolled his eyes, "Sure you are." He replied without much of a voice.

"Yeah, sorry Jim." Parker chipped in also with a smile.

"Ok fine, I'll do my best to speed the upgrades along but don't say I didn't warn you if something does happen to your hides out there." He threw a thumb over his shoulder in the general direction of the Pandoran jungle.

The Colonel merely chuckled somewhat as a response and reached behind Grace to pat the man on the back, lightly knocking her in the process.

"Will do, Ryann." He said with a smile.

Neither of them acknowledged their unintentional contact. Purely because it appeared as if Quaritch hadn't noticed at all, or he had and didn't think anything of it, or it was natural to let such things slide, or... another reason Grace couldn't think of right now. Mainly because of the adrenaline her blood sped into when the contact was made. Her shoulders slumped slightly, not liking having her heartbeat fasten at such a juvenile thing as having an attractive man unintentionally touch you. Her eyes widened the same time her heart skipped again, noticing her very deliberate description of her Jarheaded nemesis.

So, instead of addressing what obvious mental illness had made her think such unimaginable thoughts, she opted for speaking. Talking was always her way of escaping from her own mind at times.

"Can we please get back to my proposal?" She asked as the euphoria in the room died down a little and there was an opening.

"No offence, Grace, but I don't think you and your team travelling out into the jungle to collect a plant is a good idea." Parker told her somewhat condescendingly.

"And why not?" She asked, choosing to ignore his disrespect toward her work. No use in starting another shouting match. Especially with the man she needed to get along with the most.

"Where are you planning on obtaining this plant, Doctor?" Quaritch asked from beside her.

For a second she hesitated, "Within the twelfth sect." She replied. Parker groaned and Quaritch looked at her all too knowingly, having a feeling she would say that.

"That would be unwise." He addressed her again.

She turned in her chair toward the Colonel, "You said it yourself, with the Samsons offline, extra precautionary measures will be taken when venturing into the jungle." She spoke as if he was the one she needed to convince.

"I said that for _low risk_ areas. Section Twelve is _definitely _not low risk." He replied simply, running his fingers along his lips when he finished.

She paused, "I'm not asking for an entire day spent out there. We know which plant we're looking for and where it is _exactly _within the sect." She said.

His hand stopped moving along his lips to fall into a questioning position with his palm in the air, all the while resting his elbow on the arm of the chair, "It doesn't matter how long it takes for us to walk there and back, as we found out last week, it only takes a second for an unwarranted attack to occur."

"The soldier?" Grace asked, not liking that he'd brought it up.

"It's relevant information." He replied simply.

Grace scrunched her face in annoyance, "That soldier shot at the Thanator before it even started charging."

Quaritch suddenly became more animated, sitting up straighter in his chair and eyes becoming wider, "That attack was unprovoked and you know it." He defended his soldier.

"If your recruits had've received proper training for what to do in a situation like that and proper protocols were set in place for when this type of event occurs then I doubt the Thanator would've attacked."

Quaritch could've laughed, "We _do _have proper protocols set in place within the militia regarding the wildlife of Pandora! It's called aim and shoot!" His voiced slightly raised at this.

"Well now thanks to _your recruit, _that Thanator is now dead along with a few more!" She had also raised her voice, despite them both being in each other's face.

Quaritch's face softened and he leaned back from his looming position and eyed her, "Well if it makes you feel any better, Doctor, he wishes he were dead too." He spoke without any force behind it. But the statement itself held the force of a thousand waves crashing upon the sands of her conscience.

Now she felt bad. She too leaned back and gave a him a saddened expression before averting her eyes to the floor, images of the disfigured and limbless soldier entering her mind, making her wince at her foolish statement. A little more respect was gained for the Colonel in that instant. He cared for his team just as she cared for hers and she made a note to herself to watch her words next time.

Around the room, people had bowed their heads, averting everyone else's gaze. The soldier's cries of pain and agony no doubt flooding their memories.

"I'm sorry about what happened." She looked into his eyes sincerely, "I truly am. But business can't cease because of the accident. There's too much at stake here." She could go on and on all day about the scientific advancements and discoveries out there just waiting to be found, but over the years she's known Quaritch, his people and his army had always come first, and she knew that wasn't about to change any time soon.

His eyes held hers for a brief moment more, locking hers in place and not relenting until he spoke, "To a degree, I agree with you. But it would be wise to consider the new morning routine the cats have adopted to outline better cautionary measures when travelling beyond the seventh sect."

"If your project can hold off till more preventative procedures are drawn up, then you have my word you can go get the plant that will supposedly cure the world's energy crisis." Parker said into the silent room to Grace. She could've laughed at his joke, but the timing was awful and she could tell Parker had only said it to ease the minds of the others in the room a little.

"Thank you." She said and looked to both Parker and Quaritch when she did.

She didn't really know what she would do in the situation the Colonel had been thrown in if it was one of her own to be mauled by a Thanator. So, in that respect, she had grown a little more appreciation for him. Even if he was still a bit of an ass.

"Now can we get to my proposal?" Young Ben Weilly of the Technology department asked. And everyone was happy for the distraction the kid provided. Grace even smiled.

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**Ohmygahhhd that took ages. I had to end the chapter there, the soldier story got me a little down :( **

**Read & Review! :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**I can't help it anymore – the actress I am imagining Grace as is Kim Delaney (also known as Claudia Joy from Army Wives). She's absolutely gorgeous :)**

**P.s. Sorry it took so long to update. Dirt Bikes ya know?**

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_Chapter Three._

"I don't like it." He said to the room after a silence that could hardly be considered brief.

Grace rolled her eyes, "Of _course _you don't like it. It doesn't require the assistance of brutes," She looked to Weilly, "It's purely intellectual." She finished with a dignifies smile.

Now it was his turn to roll his eyes, "Don't be so naïve, Augustine. You and I both know security is compulsory even just for routine trips to outlier bases." He turned to her the same time she did.

"Just because more than half of the Science department have never shot a gun before does _not _mean we're helpless!"

"Maybe not! But it's _because _half of you have never shot a gun or know how to defend yourselves that I'm more than apprehensive about this mission." He stared at her wide eyed yet in a relaxed position, making it hard for Grace to decipher whether her argument was having an effect or not.

"Mr, _Colonel_ Quaritch...sir..." All eyes around the table locked onto the nervous but informed youth of Ben Weilly. Normally the boy wasn't so fearful, but as everyone knew, public speaking had a way of dragging the confidence right out of you and pummelling it into dust.

"...Yeah?" Quaritch inquired after Ben's silence was lingering.

Weilly tried to cover up his moment of stage freight by coughing harshly a few times, pretending something other than a lump was in his throat. "Well, the sample needed is in a current state of cryovac in the cooler at Station 4B. Trips are made regularly to the base and not one threat has been detected on that particular trail..." He finished although it sounded more like a question than a contribution to a debate.

The Colonel didn't like it. Not one bit. "The Samson's are down. Security is occupied. Budget's are being stretched, and everyone is a little more than on edge about going outside the compound." He talked to Ben, listing the hazards one by one off on his fingers.

"For God's sake, Quaritch," Grace rubbed her eyes in an exasperated manner as the man in question turned to her, "We're not asking to get a sample of Thanator sperm here!" She made eye contact with him, "All we're asking for is a few hours of the day to walk to the closest substation the RDA owns and grab a few plants! That's all!" Grace looked at him almost with a pleading expression, the man can't stand to let any others have adventure on his watch!

He leaned forward in his chair, "And what if something _did_ happen?" He let the question hang in the air for a few seconds. "Support wouldn't be able to get to you or your crew for at least a half day." Another pause before leaning back in his chair with his arms folded, "Be smart about this, Doctor."

"He's right you know, Grace." Jim chirped in.

Grace reluctantly dragged her eyes from Quaritch's, both doubting. She looked to Jim on her left.

"He's not right! He's paranoid!" She looked to each of the faces around the room, "We're not going to be here forever, people! Delays even as little as this can hold big consequences."

"That's right! They can!" Grace visibly jumped in her chair from the volume Quaritch spoke at, "And it's because of the haste of leaders of departments that consequences occur! And it's the personnel, soldiers and staff that pay the price!" Quaritch was just getting annoyed now, he furrowed his brows as he spoke and he delivered with conviction. He knew he would get what he wanted, because he had control.

_'Damn it.' _Grace thought. There's no way she could argue with that and not be seen as an insensitive bitch. People's opinions of her didn't bother her in the least, but whether she liked to admit it to herself or not, he was right. There had been tragedies and accidents throughout the years Pandora has been occupied. And it was usually the innocent who had suffered because of them.

The room was held in silence for a minute.

"I don't know about you but I could really go for some coffee." Parker said quite loudly with an awkward chuckle at the end. Everyone knew he felt like a principal of a school in this place.

"Here here." Lyson mumbled along with Jim and the rest of the room's occupants nodded in agreement.

And with that Grace scowled and Quaritch triumphed. People around the table were removing themselves from their seats with slow movements as if being in that meeting had been physically draining.

Grace's scowl never lifted as her and the man she lived to fight rose with her, "So I guess this means I don't get your signature?" She asked and glanced up at him.

His expression could've been interpreted as amused crossed with frustration, "No, Grace, you don't." And with that, he was out of the room and striding down the carpeted hallway with as much confidence as ever.

"Bastard." She mumbled at his retreating back.

_'...And did he just call me Grace?'_

"Grace," She heard, and a part of her had wanted the voice to be Quaritch's, "I'm sorry that I couldn't convince him." She looked into the sad eyes of Weilly.

She melted almost instantly and her bad mood had lifted a fraction, "It's okay, Ben. I'm amazed at even myself when I can get that man's signature on a payslip! Let alone a mission request!" She smiled when he did.

"Hopefully as things settle down around the militia, Colonel Quaritch would be more open about the other side of Hell's Gate."

She doubted it. Six years and she's never known Quaritch to be 'more open' about Pandora's jungle.

"Yeah, maybe." She allowed him. And it was also a hope of hers.

They had started walking down the same hallway Quaritch had escaped to, and Grace didn't like the way it would now remind her of that man every time she travelled through it.

_'Jeez, one coffee just isn't going to cut it today...' _She thought, and promised her poor stress levels a double shot when she reached her desk.

"Bye, Doctor Augustine."Ben said as he split from her and down the hallway that led to the small department of Technology.

* * *

He was still angry. Angry beyond words it seemed for every time he went to describe the anger to himself, all he would receive was a hot sensation running down his arms to his fists.

It wasn't very often that he had to convince people with his words. Sure he could do it, and he knew he was more than good at it. But it didn't feel right. He preferred physically dominating someone over gradually swaying them onto his side.

That wasn't the point though, and he knew it.

What he wanted most to do in that room was smack that low-life, dishonourable, moronic scum that had ever had the nerve to consider themselves a scientist. And he would derive great joy in doing so, too.

That's right, for the better half of the meeting, the only situation he wanted to play out was of him teaching that Lyson creep a lesson. Even after the conference had begun onto a different path of discussion and members of the table asking his opinion on this matter and that – his mind wouldn't wander from Grace for too long. She frustrated him, annoyed him, angered him and (in his humble opinion) bullied him! Yet the emotions that ignited through his veins the moment that worm Lyson raised his voice to her made his mind become hazy and confused.

His blood had boiled in that conference room. So much so that the walls themselves seemed to be magma burning his vision. Even after his win against Jim Ryann and the plan to halt missions for a week, his tense shoulders wouldn't relieve themselves. Although his laugh came as easily as it always has, the spike of adrenaline when Augustine raised her voice to him, or even looked at him in a certain way did silly things within his chest that he didn't agree with one bit. Not only because it made his arms heavy and breathing jerky but because he knew damn well he couldn't do anything about it.

Quaritch was usually all for manipulating power and control and directing a situation into beneficial favour by any means necessary, but he wasn't blind to what Lyson's train of thought had in mind. He was going to use the carnal power that a man held over a woman via intimidation. Perhaps that was the reason he was alarmed when his instinct to protect extended to the woman that had sat beside him during every meeting over six years. Because he has seen it before. And it sickened him to think that that creep would try it on Augustine.

By the time his thoughts were well and jumbled, he had stalked his way to his office in the Security department. Thankfully the complete opposite end of the main building of the Science department. Ignoring the copious amount of salutes he received on his way to his office, he entered and more or less slammed the door in his wake.

For a moment he just stood there. He rolled his shoulders briefly and enjoyed the way his muscled rippled as he stretched them. However this was not enough to ease him. He slumped a bit from his normally proud posture and placed his hands on his hips. His head tilted back, "Get a grip, Miles." he said to himself.

* * *

She wasn't about to let him win! She had made up her mind and she was preparing to plan! If he didn't want to give his permission for her operation to go ahead then she'd just have to do it _without _his permission.

The sudden rush she experienced in that moment at the thought of going against what Quaritch said had almost convinced her in of itself! She felt unbelievably naughty at her disobedience. And she liked it. Which surprised her to say the least. She was so used to doing her own thing and making her own decisions both in her personal and professional life despite what anyone has ever said to her, but this was something completely new and exciting. This was on a whole new level of forbidden. Colonel Quaritch's word was law, and his judgement was final. And she became giddy just thinking about disobeying him.

With a spring in her step and a poorly hidden smile on her face, she skipped straight passed her desk to the little kitchenette. She wasn't that surprised to see her favourite red mug still in the sink, unwashed. After all, the meeting had only gone for an hour or so.

As she roughly rinsed the mug and started pouring the barely-hot beverage into it, Grace was already doubting her scheme. Just how was she going to pull this off without Quaritch or Parker or any other enemy finding out until it was too late for them to reign her back in? This thought unnerved her a bit. But it didn't completely sway her.

"Doctor Augustine?" She was interrupted by none other than Norm Spellman.

Grace's smile suddenly felt too big on her face and too inappropriate for the situation, "Hi, Norm."

Norm's eyes were wider than usual as he looked at her, "Did things go better than expected?" He asked and it wasn't hard to hear the hope in his voice.

Now she felt guilty for having raised his hopes for his experiment when all she was doing was picturing the dumb look on that jerk's face when he sees her check in at Station 4B. Oh crap, then unleashed another smile.

"No, Norm. Everything went as crappy as expected."

Norm looked younger than he was when his face mimed confusion.

"But I have a plan." _Well, not yet anyway. _She mused.

This however didn't seem to convince the ever-sensible Norman Spellman and now his expression was skeptical, "What do you mean?" He asked.

"Well, Norm, it's simple, really. All we do is conduct the mission as normal, collect the sample of the vitality rich specimen and head back to the compound..." A brief pause and the twitch of a smile from Grace, "Without the higher-ups knowing about it." She finished and took a sip from her coffee.

Norm's eyes bugged out of his head and he looked around the room nervously quickly, as if he was swapping drugs with her or something, checking if anyone was within earshot.

"Doctor Augustine, I don't think that's a good idea!" Norm whispered and was no doubt imagining his career flashing before his eyes.

"Oh relax, Norm." She put her mug on the bench beside her and lightly slapped his shoulder with a limp wrist, showing nonchalance. "I wouldn't get you in trouble on purpose. I'll take the blame." She had already thought this over in her head. The last thing she'd want was for any one of her team members have their career end because of her.

Norm leaned back slowly and exhaled, still looking unconvinced, but trustworthy.

"I'm not saying it's a good idea-"

"Yes! You're in." She didn't let him finish. She knew Norm was in and that's all she needed to know.

In a hurry, she jogged to her desk and flopped into her chair. Her trusty computer coming to life as she did. A few taps of her fingers later and she was filling in a mission request form that she knew would never be signed. Which made her feel all the more like a rebel and unbelievably alive. She had to outline what the mission entailed, the time and date, specimen collection information, request approval code (or lack thereof) and a million other questions that set her on edge.

She had heard Norm's sigh of vicissitude but decided to ignore him. His mental burden was one he could carry on his own, she wasn't there to baby the boy. It was his choice if he wanted to tag along.

She also had a mental burden of her own to bear. She felt slightly guilty that she would be deceiving Quaritch when all he was trying to prove in that meeting was that he didn't want to risk her life, or anyone else's just for a science project. But on the other hand, she wanted to declare to him that he couldn't just push her around and reject every proposal she had. She wanted things too, and there was nothing he could do about it if she chose to follow what Science wanted her to. Or at least, that's what she told herself.

* * *

**Don't expect this story to be super slow by the way. I hate it when authors drag their stories out and the whole thing just becomes a snail-paced borefest... I prefer action over filler :)**

**R&R!**


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